Material spreader



Aug. 19, 1941. F. E. ARNDT MATERIAL SPREADER Original Filed March 19,1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l [NVE/Y 70R FRANKLIN EARNDT, BYMM- Aug. 19, 1941. FARNDT 2,252,691

' MATERIAL SPREADER Original Filed March 19, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2[/WE/YTORI FRANKLIN EARNDIj BY M, I

' Patented Aug. 19, 1941 2,252,691 MATERIAL s'rrmsnna Franklin E. Arndt,Gallon, Ohio, assignor to The 'Galion Iron Works 82 ManufacturingCompany, a corporation of Ohio Original application March 19, 1937,Serial No.

131,837. Divided and this application September 22, 1937, Serial No.165,064

6 Claims. (oi. 280-3344 My invention relates to road material spreadersof the type which is adapted to be hitched to and -hauled behindadumping truck traveling along the roadway, and one of the objects of thedraft vehicle or hauling dumping truck 52 shown in dotted lines in Figs.1 and 2. The hopper in is supported upon wheels H and I2 which are setinwardly from the lateral end walls of the invention is the provision ofimproved and the hopper 80 s to t k lust Outside of the efllcient'apparatus hitching a road material spreader to such truck for spreadingmaterial along a roadway in either direction of travel along the same.

A further object of the invention is the provision of improved andefficient hitching apparatus for a spreader which extends substantiallybeyond the sides of the pathof travel of the draft vehicle to which thespreader is connected.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved andefllcient mechanism for hitching to a hauling vehicle a road materialspreader having feeding mechanism adapted to be operated both when thespreader is pulled forwardly and when pushed rearwardly along a roadwayby means of such hitching mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved mechanismfor balancing a More particularly it is the object of the presentinvention to provide for a road material spreader, mechanism forreleasably hitching the same to the rear end of the frame of aselfpropelled dumping truck on a transverse pivotal axis with thespreader maintained in right angular relation to the roadway duringtravel of the truck and spreader therealong.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novelfeatures and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No.131,837, filed March 19, 1937, for an improvement in material spreaders.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevational' view of my improved spreader with the forwardhitching mechanism connected to the rear end of the frame of a dumpingtruck shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the spreader connected to a truck drawbar shownin dotted lines; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hitching mechanism shown at the rearin Figs. 1 and 2.

In the first place it should be understood that the hopper shown inFigs. 1 and 2 is adapted to extend substantially beyond both sides ofwheel shafts 29, 30.

paths of travel of the wheels l3 and I4 of the truck shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2. That is to say, when the hitching devices i5 and I6 atthe front side of the spreader are connected, as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 2, to the drawbar l1 secured by means of the brackets ifl, l9 tothe rear end of the dumping truck, the wheels H and I2 of the spreaderwill travel along paths immediately outside of the paths of travel ofthe wheels l2, l4 ofthe dumpingtruck.

The hopper l0 comprises an open top and an open'bottom, and in thelatter is located the feed roll 20, as shown in Fig. 1. The bottom wall2| of the hopper slopes downwardly to the feed roll 20. On the undersideof the bottom wall 2i are secured by means of welding, the bracketplates 23, 24 to which are secured by means of the bolts 26, as shown inFig. 1, the journal bearings 21, 28 for the inwardly extendingsupporting The wheels ii and I2 are keyed to the shafts 29 and 30 torotate therewith.

The outer ends of the shafts 28 and 30 are iournaled in bearings 3|, 22which are secured to the end walls 33, 34 of the elongated hopper.

Splined to the outer ends of the shafts 29 and 39 are the Jaw clutchelements 43 and 44, as shown in Fig. 2. Associated with the jaw clutchelements 43, 44 are the slip clutch elements 45, 46 which are looselyjournaled on the shafts 29 and 30. The slip clutch elements 45 and 46are connected to sprockets meshing with sprocket chains 48, 49 whichmesh withspaced sprockets t0 and 5|, as shown inFig. 2.

When the dumping truck 52, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, movesforwardly or toward the left as viewed in. Fig. 1, the wheels i2 willdrive the clutch element 44 in'proper direction to drive the chain 49when the clutch is applied and consequently the sprocket 5! will berotated in a clockwise direction as viewed from the right hand end ofFig. 2. When the wheels i2 rotate clockwise, as similarly viewed, withthe clutch 44, 46 thrown in, the sprocket and chain drive mechanism willeffect rotation of the feed roll 20 in an anti-clockwise direction asindicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. Consequently material in the hopperwill be fed gradually in a thin, flat stream transversely across thepath of travel of the truck 52 and substantially beyond both sides ofsuch path.

of the hopper, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1, the wheels,

II and it drive the shafts 29 and 30. By reason of the reversal of theclutches at opposite ends of the hopper, as shown in Fig. 2, only one ofthe clutches can be held applied when the hopper is traveling in a givendirection. For instance, when the spreader moves toward the left, asviewed in Fig. 1, only the clutch at the righthand endof Fig. 2 can beapplied since the clutch element 543 will slip past the clutch. element45 and not effect any driving by means of the sprocket chain 00. In asimilar manner, if the truck 52 is backed or moved rearwardly or towardthe right, as viewed in Fig. 1, the clutch element 44 will slip past theclutch element 48 and not effect any driving of the chain 49, but bysuch rearward movement of the truck 52, the clutch 43, 45 may be appliedand remain so, to efi'ect continuous driving of the chain 48 duringrearward movement of the truck 52.

The rearward movement of the truck 52' of Fig. 1 will cause the sprocketchain and spur gearing shown at the left-hand end of Fig. 2, to transmitrotation to the feed roll 20 in the same direction as when the truck 52moves forwardly. That is to say, when the truck 52 moves toward theleft, as viewed in Fig. 1, the sprocket and chain gearing at theright-hand end of Fig. 2 will rotate the feed roll 20 in feedingdirection, and when the truck 52 moves rearwardly and the sprocket chaingearing and spur gearing at the left-hand end of Fig. 2 are operated,the

feed roll 20 will again be driven in feeding direction, by reason of thereverse gearing 6i, 6?.

Inasmuch as the hopper of the spreader extends transversely of theroadway a substantial distance beyond both sides of the path of travelof the dumping truck as shown in Fig. 2, it is desirable to providespaced-apart outwardly extending aprons or sectional deflecting plates04, 65 secured to the upper edges of the hopper at one side thereof, andalso similar aprons 66, 61 secured to the outer edges of the oppositeside Intermediate the apron plates 64, 65 at the edge I08 of the hopperis hinged at 69, I 2. rectangular sheet of stiif flexible material, suchas rubber or rubber belting II, so that when swung upwardly to theposition shown inFig. 1' it may flexibly connect the inner edges of theadjacent fixed or stationary apron plates Ghand 65. In

' a. similar manner a rectangular sheet of heavy or stiff flexiblematerial, such as rubber or rubber belting I2, is hinged at I3, I4 tothe edge 22 of.the hopper between the fixed or stationary apron plates66, 61. With the flexible members II and 12 in their upper positions toconnect the inner edges of the plates 60, 65 and 65, 61, the forward andrear walls of the hopper are in effect extended upwardly so as toprevent spilling of the material onto the hitching devices I5, I6 or IE,I6 when material is dumped from the truck into the hopper and alsoenable loading of the material heaping full into the hopper withoutspilling beyond the uppermost edges of the hopper.

The spaced-apart hitching devices I5, I6 of Fig. 2 are preferablyconnected to the transverse drawbar II on the rear end of the frame ofthe hauling truck, in the position shown in full lines 45 and It in Fig.2. That is to say, the hitching devices I5 and I6 are mounted on thespreader at a suflicient distance apart to be located outside of thebrackets I8, I9 of Fig. 3 and at such distances therefrom as tofacilitate manual connection of the hitching devices to'the drawbar I7.Furthermore, the brackets I8, I9 act as abutments to prevent thespreaderfrom shifting transversely relatively to the path of travel ofthe truck any more than limited distances Thetop of the hopper maycomprise a rectangular frame composed of angle irons includ- 1 ing theforward transverse angle iron I09, as

shown in Fig. 2. The lower edges of the rec-' tangular framecomposed ofangle irons at the open top of the hopper, may be welded to the upperedges of, the end walls 03, 84, the upper edge of the bottom wall 2|,and the upper edge of the vertical wall I8.

The hitching devices I5, I6 may each comprise an upper hooked Jaw I09and a lower abutment jaw IIO, rigidly connected together or madeintegral and securely attached by means of welding or otherwise to thetransverse angle iron I08 which extends along the forward edge of theupper side of the hopper I0. As shown in Fig. 1 the underside of theupper Jaw I09 may be beveled at III and the lower abutment jaw may bebeveled at I I2 so that there will be a converging relation between thebeveled surfaces III, H2 toward the rectangular opening II! between theupper and lower jaws I09, IIO. It should be understood that eachhitching device it, It comprises a pair of upper and lower bevel jawsI09, H0.

Associated with each pair of jaws I09, H0 is a latch plate I I4 theforward end of which is beveled at H5 in Fig. 1. Each of the two latchplates H5, H4 is pinned or otherwise secured to the rock shaft M0 torock therewith when actuated by the handle III located on the outer sideof the end wall 93 of the hopper I0. The rock shaft IIS may be mountedin the bearings H8, M8 on the forward side of the angle iron I08 at theupper forward edge of the hopper I0.

The latch H4 is hook-shaped and so associated with the jaws I09 and H0,as to connect the intervening space between the jaws at the inner endsof the beveled surfaces III, H2 and thereby close the transverse openingII3 between the jaws. The latch plate H4 is held in the position shownin Fig. .1 by means of a. spring II9, one end of which is connected toan anchorage on the outer wall of the plate 33, and the other end ofwhich is connected to a plate I20 secured to the rock shaft H6. The rockshaft H6 is adapted to be actuated by the handle II'I against the actionof the spring H9 to move the latch plate H4 downwardly as viewed inFlg.1, and in this manner the hitching devices may be released from thedrawbar I'I shown in Fig. 2.

When the hitching devices I5, I6 are to be" be particularly noted thatboth latch plates I II are always operated simultaneously eitherautomatically when the spreader :is pushed into place.

' III and consequently the spreader may have a limited tilting movementtransversely of the roadway relatively to the hauling vehicle. Suchflexibility of transverse tilting is useful not only duringtransportation along the highway but also during spreading operationswhile dumping from the dumping truck is taking place and the deflector Hor 12 is being relied on to prevent spilling of material onto thehitching devices. Furthermore, such freedom of transverse tilting is ofadvantage to facilitate connection or disconnection of the hitchingdevices I5, I8 or II, I8 to the drawbar I1 while the hopper is movedinto or out of hitching positions while the handles I28, I21, I32, I33are being grasped by the operators.

The hitching devices I5, I8 on the opposite side of the hopper aresimilar in construction to the hitching devices I5 and I8 and includeupper fixed jaws I09 and beveled latch plates .t'ate welding orotherwise securing the drawbar;

I1 to the brackets I9 and I9.

In order to'iaeilitatemovement of the spreader on its wheels II, I2 inorder to connect the hitching devices I5, I8 to the drawbar I1, Iprovide rearwardly extending handle bars I28 and I21 securely mounted onthe end plates 32. 34 'of the hopper to extend rearwardly therefrom.Such handle bars I28, I21 may bein the form of pipes extending throughloops I28, I29 on the rear corners of the rectangular frame of thehopper, and secured at their inner ends by means of bolts I20, I9I tothe end angle irons of the rectangular frame 01' the hopper.

On account of the extra length of the hopper,

' spreading of material from the hopper may be located on the outer sideof the end wall 30, as

shown in perspective in Fig. 3. The latches Ill are yieldingly held inplace relative to the upper and lower fixed jaws, by means of the springI I9 which is connected at one end to the bracket I2I secured to the endwall 34 and serving as an anchorage for one end of the spring I I9. Theother end of the spring H9 is connected to the plate I20 secured to therock shaft 8'.

As shown in Fig.2, the latches II4 are closely associated with the outersurfaces of the jaw plates I09 and as shownv in Fig. 3 the parallelrearwardly extending flanges of the bracket plates I9, I9 are locatedinwardly of the jaw plates I09. Consequently when the hitching mechanismflexibly connects the spreader to the towing vehicle, the inner faces ofthe jaw plates I09 abut against the outer faces of the rear wardlyextending flanges of the bracket plates It, I9 to limit the lateralmovement of the spreader relative to the towing vehicle. The latchesihl' being on the outer sides of the jaw plates I09 are always free tobe applied or released as desired.

Inasmuch as frames of self-propelled dumping trucks such as thatillustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, may be of various heights fromthe road surface, it is preferable to provide a transverse efi'ectedbeyond the sides of the path of travel of the self-propelled dumpingtruck shown in dottedlines at 82 in Figs. 1 and 2. Consequently thehandles I28 and I21 are located at opposite ends so that one or twopersons may manually move the spreader about on its wheels II, I2 untilthe spring pressed latches are automatically snapped over the drawbar I1and the spreader is hitched to the draft vehicle or self-propelleddumping truck with the assurance that it will follow the path of travelof the dumping truck while having flexibility of up and down movementover irregularities in the roadway on the drawbar I1 as a pivot.

As shown in Fig. 2, handle bars E32, E33 may also be provided on theopposite side of the spreader at the opposite corners and in alignmentrespectively with the handle bars I28 and I21. When the spreader ishitched to the dumping truck 52, as shown in Fig. 2, the forwardlyextending handle bars M2 and I33 are located in such positions as tohave ample clearance from the sides of the dumping truck.

During rapid transportation along the highway, of the spreader, whilebeing hauled by a draft vehicle, the rear hitching mechanism may be usedto haul a trailer, a spreader, or any other vehicle. The main purpose ofprovichng the hitching mechanism both on the front side and on the rearside of the hopper is to reduce metal channel I22 provided with boltsadapted to extend through one of thevertically spaced holes I20, I25 inthe vertical bracket plates I8, I9 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. By means ofthis construction the drawbar I1 may be secured to the. rear end of theframe of the self-propelled dumping truck so that the drawbar I1 will beheld at such adjusted elevation as will conform with the height of thehitching devices I5, I8 relative to the road surface, when thehorizontal upper frame of the hopper is in. approximately levelposition. Asishown in Fig. 3, the drawbar I1 extends throughperforations in the lower ends of the vertical rearwardly projectingplates of the angle iron brackets I8 and I9, so as to facilithe cost ofthe spreader by omitting one of the driving connections between thefeedroll and one set of supporting wheels, either the set of wheelsdesignated H or the set of wheels designated H2 in Fig. 2. That is tosay, by adding the rear hitching mechanism shown in Fig. 3, thetransmission mechanism from the wheels it to the feed roll 20 may beomitted and only the transmission mechanism from the wheels I2 to thefeed roll included.

The slip clutch M, 46 of Fig. 2 when applied will effect driving of thefeed roll it in a clockwise direction, as viewed from the right-hand endof Fig. 2, when the hauling vehicle moves forwardly. When the spreaderis connected to the truck 52, as shown in Fig. l, and the truck is movedrearwardly, the clutch 44, 48 will be automatically released andconsequently the feed 20 in the proper direction to feed the materialfrom the hopper under the lower edge of the.

valve or gate plate 18 as regulated thereby.

It is preferred, however, to provide reverse transmission mechanismbetween the feed roll 20 and both sets of wheels II and I2 because thenthe feed roll 20 may be located ,rearwardly of the wheels I I, I2 so asto feed priming or semiliquld material onto the roadway withoutpermitting either the wheels of the spreader or the wheels of thehauling vehicle to contact with the same. Then by filling the hopperwith dry material, such as crushed stone or gravel, such dry material byrearward movement of the truck and the spreader, may be fed onto thepreviously spread priming material, and in that event the wheels of thespreader and the wheels of the truck will come in contact only with theupper layer of dry material. During such operations the spreader isconnected to the dumping truck by means of the hitching mechanism shownin Fig. 3.

When transmission mechanism between both sets of wheels H, I! and thefeed roll is included in the spreader mechanism, the hitching devicesI5, l6 may be omitted and in that event the spreader shown in Fig. 1 isturned end for end so as to connect the hitching devices l, IQ of Fig. 3to the drawbar H with the feed roll located rearwardly of the wheels ll,l2. It can readily be seen that when the spreader is hitched by means ofthe mechanism shown in Fig. 3, to the rear end of the frame of the truckwith the feed roll 20 rearwardly of the wheels ll, 12, forward movementof the truck will effect driving of the sprocket chain 48, and rearwardmovement of the truck will effect driving of the sprocket chain 49. Thatis to say, the feed roll 20 will always be driven ina clockwisedirection when viewed from the end of the hopper where the end plate 34is located, and this is true whether the truck moves forwardlyor'rearwardly provided both of the feed roll transmission mechanismsshown in Fig. 2 are included in the spreader.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in thedetails and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and Itherefore wish not to be restricted to the precise construction hereindisclosed.

Having thus described and shown an emibodiment of my invention, what Idesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Hitching mechanism for connecting amaterial spreader to a haulingvehicle, the combination with a horizontal drawbar, of mechanism forsecuring such drawbar to the rear end of the hauling vehicle, couplingdevices adapted to be secured to the front side of the spreader in.

spaced-apart relation in position to receive said drawbar, said couplingdevices each comprising a hooked jaw and a straight jaw fixed to thespreader in vertically spaced-apart relation and closely associated witha hooked latch member mounted on a rock shaft positioned to enable thelatch members to engage said drawbar and co-operate with the said jawsto hitch the spreader to the hauling vehicle, an extension from saidrock shaft journaled to one of the lateral ends of the spreader,resilient means connected to such extension for applying the latch saidupper jaws, said spaced-apart jaws consisting of two plates each havingan upper and a bracket to such side of the spreader to effect automaticapplication of the latches when said rod is manually released, themanual release of said latchesby rocking said rod being against theaction of such spring.

3. Hitching mechanism for flexibly connecting a road material spreaderto a towing vehicle, comprising the combination with jaw plates eachconsisting of an upper jaw and a lower jaw in a single vertical plane,each upper jaw having a lower inverted U-shaped face, said jaw platesbeing adapted to be secured to the advancing side of the spreader inspaced-apart relation, a rod adapted to be secured to the towingvehicle, said rod having a diameter less than the vertical spacesbetween the upper and lower jaws of said jaw plates so that the spreadermay tilt transversely of the roadway relatively to the towing vehicle toa limited extent, a rock shaft journaled to one end of the spreader toextend transversely of the roadway, said rock shaft being journaled alsoto said jaw plates, spaced-apart latch members on said rock shaft inclose association with rectangular openings for the rod to afford themembers .to the drawbar and a handle at such lateral end of the spreaderand connected to said shaft to rock the same to effect release of saidhooked latch members from said drawbar.

2., Hitching mechanism for spreaders comprising upper jawsadapted to befixed to the front side of a spreader in spaced-apart relation, lowerfixed abutment jaws spaced respectively below relatively tiltingmovement aforesaid, a spring connected between said spreader and saidshaft to urge said latch members to coupling positions in associationwith said jaw plates when said rod is embracedby all of said jaws andlatch members, and manual means operable against the .action of saidspringto efiect uncoupling of the hitching mechanism from the towingvehicle.

4. Hitching mechanism for flexibly connecting a road material spreaderto a towing vehicle,

comprising the combination with spaced-apart jaw plates each consistingof an upper jaw and a lower jaw, each upper jaw having an invertedU-shaped face, said jaw plates being adapted to b connected to suchspreader, a drawbar rod adapted to be secured to the towing vehicle,said rod having a diameter substantially less than the vertical spacesbelow said U-shaped faces so that the spreader maytilt transversely ofthe roadway relatively to the towing vehicle to a limited extent,spaced-apart latch members in close association with said jaw plates,said latch members being hooked to provide inner faces forming inco-operation with the inner faces of the jaws of said plates lateralopenings for the rod to afford the relatively tilting movementsaforesaid, and means for applying said latch members to said drawbar rodand for releasing .the same therefrom.

5. Hitching mechanism for spreaders comprising an upper hooked jawadapted to be fixed to a spreader, said jaw having an inner invertedU-shaped surface comprising opposing parallel vertical faces, a lowerabutment jaw spaced below said upper jaw and also adapted to be fixed tosuch spreader, a hooked latch associated with said jaws to close the gapbetween the same in position to co-operate with the upper hooked jaw andwith said lower abutment jaw to confine a drawbar of a draft vehicle tothe lateral opening formed by said jaws and said hooked latch, resilientmeans for applying the latch; and manthe upper hooked jaw to release thedrawbar.

6. Hitching mechanism for spreaders comprising the combination with ahooked jaw having an outer beveled face and an inner vertical face,

' ual means for moving the latch down away from of a horizontal jawhaving an outer beveled face beveled face on said horizontal jaw, saidhooked latch having an inner vertical face in a vertical plane extendinglaterally through the inner face of the hooked law, resilient meansconnected to said hooked latch to apply the same to a drawbar on atowing vehicle, said drawbar being adapted to be engaged by theconverging bevel faces of the hooked jaw and latch and thereby effectmovement of said latch to releasing position against th action of saidresilient means so that the latter will act automatically to snap thelatch into locking position relative to the .drawbar when the latter islocated between said drawbar.

